Texas Student Wins Top Honor at State-Fish Art Expo

ATHENS—Brady King of Livingston was named the winner of the Seth Thomas Spradlin Best of Show award at the 13th annual Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Expo held at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center June 25.

King’s painting of a pair of Atlantic sailfish won out over 3,000 other entries because of an extra touch of realism, according to Karen Hollingsworth, manager of the State-Fish Art Contest for Wildlife Forever. “There was a tie between the top two contenders, and the thing that decided the winner was the fact that Brady’s painting showed rips in the fishes’ sails,” said Hollingsworth. “It was that attention to detail that made the difference.”

The sail, the large dorsal fin atop the fish’s back, can be damaged during fights between fish or by anglers’ hooks.

The Seth Thomas Spradlin Best of Show award is named after the winner of the 2008 Best of Show award and Art of Conservation Stamp award. Spradlin and his brother Neal lost their lives in a bush plane crash in Alaska in August 2010.

Spradlin’s parents and sisters attended the awards ceremony. “I want to thank all of you, especially you parents for encouraging your children to preserve God’s creation on canvas,” said his father. “We are humbled by this award,” his mother added.

The Texas division of the State-Fish Art Contest is headquartered at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. Deadline for the annual contest is March 31 each year. For more information on the contest, visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishart.

LH 2011-06-28

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